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Near-hurricane strength wind gusts arrived in the region Sunday night courtesy of "an extremely powerful, low-level jet" of air from the southeast, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Brooke Taber.

That fast-moving atmospheric stream skimmed across the Green Mountains at about 4,000 feet and gained strength as it descended into the Champlain Valley, toppling trees and power lines, Taber said Monday morning from his office at Burlington International Airport.

Complicit in havoc was an "almost historically low-pressure field" of air in the region, which amplified the force of the wind, Taber said.

The weather service reported wind-speeds of up to 115 mph on Mount Mansfield, and 63 mph at the airport.

Milton, Jericho and St. Albans received some of the heaviest buffeting in the valley, Taber said.

Vermonters reported mostly light, steady rainfall in the region.

The storm's speedy descent off the Green Mountains disrupted what might have been a wind-whipped downpour, Taber said.

A prediction of maximum winds for Monday are displayed on a National Weather Service map.
The forecast, created at 9:30 a.m., show gusts in Burlington possibly reaching 38 mph.(Photo: Courtesy National Weather Service)

Forecasters say the tail-end of the storm may yet lash the Champlain Valley.

Despite a Monday morning lull, local winds might ramp back up between noon and 6 p.m., with gusts of up to 38 mph in the Burlington area, Taber said.

The weather service warns motorists to be prepared for travel interruptions through tomorrow. High-riding vehicles are particularly vulnerable to destabilizing wind gusts, it adds.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.